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CHARLES H. MERRITT, OF DANBUEY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN T.

AKING, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

HATTERS TAN K.

SBPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 314,461, dated March24, 1885.

Application filed December 20, 1883. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. Minimum, of Danbury, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Hatters Tanks, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tanks for hot wa ter, which are used in hatmanufacture for dipping the hat-bodies while performing the variousoperations of sizing, scalding, shrinking, &c. \Vhen designed for anumber of operators, such a tank is commonly provided with a shelf orplank around its edge, and is termed a battery. The steam arising fromsuch tanks is very annoying to the workmen,

and hinders them in their work by rendering it difficult for them tosee, and is also injurious to health; and the object of my invention isto enable the steam to be more completely got rid of and carried offthan has been possible with the hoods resembling inverted funnelscommonly arranged over the tanks.

The invention consists in the combination,

with a battery-tank and a surrounding plank, 2 5 of a cover orsteam-chamber above the tank, a guard or curtain practically closing theentrance to the cover or chamber, and a draftor outlet pipe arranged tocarry off the steam or vapor from the cover or chamber.

Theinvention also consists in the combination,with a tank used fordipping hat-bodies, of a cover or steam-chamber above the tank having anopening closed by a yielding curtain, and a draft or outlet pipearranged to 3 5 carry off the steam or vapor from said cover or chamber.

Theinvention also consists in the combination,with a battery-tank usedfor dipping hatbodies and asurrounding plank, of a cover or 0steam-chamber above the tank, having an opening closed by a yieldingcurtain, and a draft or outlet pipe arranged to carry off the steam orvapor from said cover or chamber.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan of a battery-tankhaving my invention applied to it. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of saidtank on the line a: :r, Fig. 1, showing the entrance to thesteam-chamber as practically closed by guards, and Fig. 3is asectionsimilar to Fig. 2,showing the openings into the chan1- loner closed byguards consisting of yielding cura1ns.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

A designates the battery-tank,which is surrounded by the plank B, andwhich in itself is like the tanks heretofore used. Water is maintainedtherein up to a proper level, and steam to heat the water is admitted bya pipe,

a, under control of a Valve, a, to a coil, a in the bottom of the tank.

Above the tank is placed a steam-chamber or cover, 0, from which extendsa draft or outlet pipe, D, and the entrance to the chamber ispractically closed by guards. This chamher may be polygonal,and thelower portions,

0', of its sides may be inclined inward slightly, as shown in Fig. 2.

The tank A being circular and the chamber polygonal, there will beformed on each of the sides of the chamber,and opposite each of thesides of the polygonal plank B, an openin g, b,sufticient in size toenable the hat-bodies to be inserted into the tank, and not large enoughto allow the steam to escape into the room when the draft oroutlet pipeis used.

The inclined sides 0 of the chamber 0 form guards, which practicallyclose the entrance to the tank in that they, in connection with thedraft-pipe, ei'i'ectually prevent steam from escaping into the room.

The steanrchamber G in Fig. 8 is shown as polygonal, and its guardsinstead of being rigid consist of yielding curtains. These curtains maybe of any kind of flexible fabric or material, as shown at C or they maybe of rigid material, such as a piece of board, as shown at G. In thelatter case the curtain should be attached by hinges 0, so that it mayswing inward. In either case the curtain is capable of yielding topermit of the hatbodies being introduced into the tank.

By the use of the draft-pipe a suction is produced from the room intothe steam-chamber, and hence the steam arising from the hatbodies afterthey are withdrawn from the tank and while upon the plank will a largepart of it be drawn into the steam-chamber, especially with the form ofguards shown in Fig. 2.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure" by Letters Patent,is-

1. The combination,with abattery-tank and a surrounding plank, of acover or steamchamber above the tank, a guard or curtain ICO 'ingcurtain, and a draft or outlet pipe arranged 3. The combination, with abattery-tank used for dipping hat-bodies anda surrounding plank,of acover or steam-chamber above the tank having an opening closed by ayielding 1' curtain, and a draft or outlet pipe arranged to carry offthe steam or vapor from said cover or chamber, substantially asdescribed.

CHARLES H. MERRITT.

practically closing the entrance to said cover or chamber, and a draftor outlet pipe arranged to carry off the steam or vapor from said coveror chamber, substantially as and. for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with a tank used for dipping hat-bodies, of asteam-chamber above the tank having an opening closed by a yield-Witnesses:

THOMAS A. LOUNSBURY,

to carryoff the steam or vapor from said cover LUMAN L. HUBBELL.

or chamber, substantially as described.

